Agenda item
SURREY CHILDREN'S SERVICES ACADEMY
- Meeting of Children and Education Select Committee, Friday, 7 September 2018 10.00 am (Item 6.)
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Purpose of the Report: To set out plans to establish an Academy to drive and co-ordinate learning and development across the whole children’s workforce in Surrey.
Minutes:
Witnesses:
Sheila Norris, Consultant on the Surrey Children’s
Services Academy Design
Dave Hill, Director of Children, Families and Learning
Clare Curran, Cabinet Member for Children
Key points raised in the discussion:
- Officers explained that the scope of the proposed Academy was to work with the core and wider workforce and was designed to be ambitious in its scope. It was explained that the creation of the academy would develop the workforce and ensure:
- that it is confident and successful;
- that it would create a single unified model for the workforce and partners;
- and that it would aim to change the culture of working.
It was noted that the Academy was in its early
stages of development and concept design.
-
It was explained that the service was looking to
redesign the current learning and development offer and were
working alongside partners and staff to aid in shaping the design
of this model. Officers noted that there were plans to include
common areas of induction with partners and potential shared
leadership training.
-
Officers noted that the new Academy would, when
active in early 2019, fit into the Children, Families and Learning
Quality Assurance Directorate.
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The Committee questioned whether it would be
possible to explain the role of Members and how they can be
utilised as a means of improving the support network for frontline
workers as part of the proposed learning and development
programme.
-
Members questioned retention figures and asked how
the Academy would work to resolve the current issue of retention of
social workers. It was noted that there was a trend of a drop off
in retention after two years of employment. Officers noted that
there was the current Newly Qualified Social Worker (NQSW) Academy
and that this was designed for NQSW’s only, with a drop off
in support after two years. While it was noted that the NQSW
Academy had received praise in the Ofsted report (2018), it was
explained that the new proposals hoped to expand upon this success.
It was explained that the new Academy was aimed to provide support
for staff and partners on a longer term basis, which aimed to
improve morale and long term retention.
-
Members questioned the performance indicators of the
new Academy; including the success criteria and potential response
to the proposals not meeting these criteria. It was noted that
success could be measured by retention of social care staff and
management improvement evidenced through audit. It was suggested
that these could be built into the launch of the Academy.
-
It was noted that officers had been looking at best
practice across similar models in other authorities, such as Essex
County Council, where a similar model had been implemented for
social workers only. It was noted that best practice in
implementing support and progression for staff and partners had
been looked at to help develop this project.
-
Officers noted that there was a potential for future
provision for the recruitment of apprentice social workers, noting
that the service was keen to explore this as a potential future
option for improving retention and increased numbers of
“home-grown” social workers.
-
Officers clarified that the design model and budget
for the proposed Academy was being formulated and would be shared
with the Committee before implementation. It was noted that there
would be a need for a short term investment but that the
Directorate would look to streamline the current learning and
development offer to reduce costs and also that improved retention
would over time reduce agency costs.
-
Officers stressed that the Academy could not be
viewed in isolation as a “fix-all” but must be seen as
a part of the overall transformation programme of the Children,
Families and Learning Directorate.
-
Officers highlighted that the Academy would begin
initial operation in early 2019, with the launch of its learning
and development offer. It was stressed that the Academy would
continue to be developed over the long term.
-
The Cabinet Member for Children stressed the need
for professional development to ensure that the service undertakes
its rapid improvement, and that the development of the Academy was
a key component of this.
Recommendations:
- That the Cabinet Member ensures that the service works with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Children and Education Select Committee to embed into the development of the business case for the Children’s Academy measureable success criteria, including:
- Incremental improvement upon the rates of retention of social care staff;
- Improvement and maintenance of professional standards in Children’s Services;
Which can be used as key performance indicators for
the Academy upon start of its operation in early 2019.
- That the proposed model for the Children’s Service Academy be circulated to the Committee before its start of operation in January 2019.
Supporting documents: